How Some Species Can Go Extinct Twice And Why We Should Care
Some species go extinct twice β one time when the last individual stops breathing, and a second time when our collective memory about the species disappears
Β© by GrrlScientist for Forbes | Twitter | Newsletter
An international team of scientists recently published a study arguing that species can go extinct twice: there is the biological extinction event, that tragic moment when the last member of a species lives no more, but thereβs also societal extinction, which occurs when that species is expunged from our collective memory and cultural knowledge. Species can disappear from our societies, cultures, and even our consciousness at the same time as, or even before, human actions push them over the edge into oblivion.
Similar to biological extinction, societal extinction can have serious conservation consequences.
β[J]ust as population declines may lead to biological extinction, the decline of collective attention and memory may lead to the societal extinction of species, which can seriously affectβ¦
